Pine Ridge, Arkansas facts for kids

Pine Ridge is a small place in Arkansas, United States. It's not a city with its own mayor or government. Instead, it's called an unincorporated community. This means it's a group of homes and businesses that are part of a larger county, Montgomery County, rather than having its own separate town rules. You can find Pine Ridge in Oden Township. It's located at 34°35′9″N 93°54′36″W.

How Pine Ridge Got Its Name

Pine Ridge wasn't always called Pine Ridge! Its first name was Waters. But in 1936, something special happened. There was a very popular radio show called Lum and Abner. This show was about a fictional (made-up) town also named Pine Ridge, Arkansas.

The real town of Waters became famous because it was the inspiration for the radio show's setting. To celebrate this, the people of Waters voted to change their town's name to Pine Ridge. They wanted to honor the radio show that had made their little community well-known.

Pine Ridge Today

After a while, Pine Ridge changed again. It lost its "incorporation," which means it no longer has its own local government. It's now managed by the county.

Even without its own government, Pine Ridge still has important history. Two of its oldest buildings are very special. They are the Huddleston Store and McKinzie Store. These buildings were built over 100 years ago, in the early 1900s.

Today, these historic buildings are used in a cool way. They are part of a museum dedicated to the Lum and Abner radio show. One of the buildings is even a replica of the "Jot'em Down" general store, which was a famous place in the radio series. These buildings are so important that they are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.